Tony Pulis claimed Marouane Chamakh’s winner has given Crystal Palace hope of survival as the Eagles climbed off the bottom of the league.

But West Ham boss Sam Allardyce was left “livid” after a lacklustre defeat at Selhurst Park.

And Ravel Morrison was booked for his part in a post-match scuffle with Joel Ward which will see the England Under-21 star banned for Saturday’s trip to Liverpool.

Chamakh, who spent three unhappy years at Arsenal, failed to find the net in three loan appearances for the Hammers last season.

But the Moroccan gave his new boss the perfect home debut with a headed goal following a cross from Barry Bannan after 42 minutes while his side also kept a clean sheet.

The Eagles climb above Sunderland and are now level on points with Fulham - and only three points from safety.

After picking up only three points in their first 10 games, last year’s Championship playoff winners have now racked up seven in their last four while only conceding one goal.

Pulis’ mission impossible might be on after all, especially with the January transfer window approaching.

“It’s a great result,” said the Welshman. “What we have to do is win games, put points on the board to give everybody hope.

“You win games, you give the fans hope and the more hope you give them, the more they’ll back the team and buy into what the team need.

“The players have been fantastic. We need to strengthen the side and bring a little bit more quality in, and they’ll be delighted if we can do that.

“We do that within what the club can afford, but we need to be in the race by the time the window opens.”

And Pulis praised Chamakh, who scored his second goal of the season - and first since August.

“He’s got good quality, he’s a good player,” the Eagles boss said. “He just needs that bit of confidence to grow into the player we really need.”

(Photo: Bryn Lennon)

Allardyce will also need to spend next month on a striker after Carlton Cole and sub Modibo Maiga could not emulate Chamakh.

Saturday’s victory over Fulham ended a five-match run without a win but they remain in the relegation mix - and have yet to earn a point after going behind this season.

“We did not have enough cutting edge, that was the problem for us,” Allardyce complained. “But we gave away the most ridiculous goal, from our point of view, that I’ve seen for a very long time.”

The West Ham boss spoke to TV reporters, but did not attend his post-match press conference.

Stewart Downing did get the ball in the Palace net with a low drive, but a foul was awarded against teammate Joey O’Brien in the build-up - although TV replays left observers puzzling over the infringement.

Assistant Neil McDonald said: “He’s [Allardyce] still a bit livid after the performance - not just our players but the officials.

“We feel a bit hard done by, especially with the goal we scored which was deemed a foul. That stopped us being on the front foot. He’s giving himself a bit of time.”